Frontiers in Pediatrics (Sep 2022)
The burden of hospital-attended influenza in Norwegian children
- Håkon Bøås,
- Terese Bekkevold,
- Lise Beier Havdal,
- Lise Beier Havdal,
- Anne-Marte Bakken Kran,
- Anne-Marte Bakken Kran,
- Astrid Elisabeth Rojahn,
- Ketil Størdal,
- Ketil Størdal,
- Ketil Størdal,
- Sara Debes,
- Henrik Døllner,
- Henrik Døllner,
- Svein Arne Nordbø,
- Svein Arne Nordbø,
- Bjørn Barstad,
- Elisebet Haarr,
- Liliana Vázquez Fernández,
- Britt Nakstad,
- Britt Nakstad,
- Truls Michael Leegaard,
- Truls Michael Leegaard,
- Olav Hungnes,
- Elmira Flem,
- Norwegian Enhanced Pediatric Immunisation Surveillance (NorEPIS) Network,
- Håkon Bøås,
- Terese Bekkevold,
- Liliana Vázquez Fernández,
- Olav Hungnes,
- Anne-Marte Bakken Kran,
- Elmira Flem,
- Lise Beier Havdal,
- Christopher Inchley,
- Truls Michael Leegaard,
- Britt Nakstad,
- Astrid Elisabeth Rojahn,
- Ketil Størdal,
- Sara Debes,
- Henrik Døllner,
- Svein Arne Nordbø,
- Bjørn Barstad,
- Elisebet Haarr
Affiliations
- Håkon Bøås
- Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway
- Terese Bekkevold
- Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway
- Lise Beier Havdal
- Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway
- Lise Beier Havdal
- Department of Paediatric and Adolescent Medicine, Akershus University Hospital, Nordbyhagen, Norway
- Anne-Marte Bakken Kran
- Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway
- Anne-Marte Bakken Kran
- Department of Microbiology, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
- Astrid Elisabeth Rojahn
- Department of Paediatrics, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
- Ketil Størdal
- Department of Paediatrics, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
- Ketil Størdal
- Department of Pediatrics, Østfold Hospital, Grålum, Norway
- Ketil Størdal
- Division of Paediatric and Adolescent Medicine, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
- Sara Debes
- Department of Medical Microbiology, Østfold Hospital, Grålum, Norway
- Henrik Døllner
- Department of Pediatrics, St. Olavs University Hospital, Trondheim, Norway
- Henrik Døllner
- Department of Clinical and Molecular Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
- Svein Arne Nordbø
- 0Department of Medical Microbiology, St. Olavs University Hospital, Trondheim, Norway
- Svein Arne Nordbø
- Department of Clinical and Molecular Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
- Bjørn Barstad
- 1Department of Paediatric and Adolescent Medicine, Stavanger University Hospital, Stavanger, Norway
- Elisebet Haarr
- 2Department of Medical Microbiology, Stavanger University Hospital, Stavanger, Norway
- Liliana Vázquez Fernández
- Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway
- Britt Nakstad
- Department of Paediatric and Adolescent Medicine, Akershus University Hospital, Nordbyhagen, Norway
- Britt Nakstad
- Division of Paediatric and Adolescent Medicine, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
- Truls Michael Leegaard
- 3Department of Microbiology and Infection Control, Akershus University Hospital, Nordbyhagen, Norway
- Truls Michael Leegaard
- 4Division of Medicine and Laboratory Sciences, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
- Olav Hungnes
- Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway
- Elmira Flem
- Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway
- Norwegian Enhanced Pediatric Immunisation Surveillance (NorEPIS) Network
- Håkon Bøås
- Terese Bekkevold
- Liliana Vázquez Fernández
- Olav Hungnes
- Anne-Marte Bakken Kran
- Elmira Flem
- Lise Beier Havdal
- Christopher Inchley
- Truls Michael Leegaard
- Britt Nakstad
- Astrid Elisabeth Rojahn
- Ketil Størdal
- Sara Debes
- Henrik Døllner
- Svein Arne Nordbø
- Bjørn Barstad
- Elisebet Haarr
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3389/fped.2022.963274
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 10
Abstract
BackgroundNorwegian health authorities do not recommend universal pediatric vaccination against seasonal influenza. We aimed to estimate the incidence of influenza by age and underlying medical conditions in hospitalized Norwegian children aged <18 years.MethodsActive surveillance for influenza in children <18 years was implemented in five hospitals during 2015–18. Children with respiratory symptoms and/or fever were prospectively enrolled and tested for influenza. Surveillance data were linked to health registry data to estimate the national burden of influenza in hospitals.ResultsIn 309 (10%) out of 3,010 hospital contacts, the child tested positive for influenza, corresponding to an average incidence of 0.96 hospital-attended influenza cases per 1,000 children <18 years of age. Children <1 year of age (3.8 per 1,000 children) and children with underlying medical conditions (17 per 1,000 children with bronchopulmonary dysplasia) had the highest average incidence. Among <1 year old children, 3% tested positive for influenza, compared to 25% for children aged 6–17. Few children were vaccinated against influenza.ConclusionsChildren <1 year of age and children with underlying medical conditions had a higher incidence of influenza requiring hospital treatment compared to the general population. Effective interventions against seasonal influenza for children in Norway should be considered.
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